Driver Of Snowmobile Hit By Metra Train Near Kenosha

PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. (STMW) – A man who told police he was drinking before he got on a snowmobile jumped off just before a Kenosha-bound Metra train grazed it Wednesday night in Pleasant Prairie, Wis.

Jerry Truax, 36, was not injured in the 8 p.m. crash near 91st Street and 7th Avenue — about 2 1/2 miles north of the Kenosha Metra station, Pleasant Prairie police Lt. Dan Reilly said.

Truax told police he was drinking before driving the snowmobile. He told police he jumped off the snowmobile just before the train’s impact. The train instead grazed the snowmobile, Reilly said. Truax was not injured.

Truax was taken into custody and charged with violation of bond on a previous alcohol-related charge and a misdemeanor charge of trespassing on rail property, Reilly said.

Metra said the crash involved Union Pacific North Line No. 357, which left Chicago’s Ogilvie Transportation Center and was on its way to its last stop in Kenosha, Wis., Metra spokesman Michael Gillis said.

Responding police initially found the snowmobile, but no driver. They followed footprints in the snow leading from the snowmobile and saw Truax running and began a foot pursuit, Reilly said.

The train, scheduled to arrive in Kenosha at 7:56 p.m., was initially stopped as police investigated, but was running again about 9 p.m., Gillis said. The train will get into the station about an hour late, he said.